Yellow
by XII.XX
Summary: She had been too late on more than one occasion. Zack/Cissnei


**Yellow**

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_She'd been too late on more than one occasion._ [Zack/Cissnei]

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He gave her sunflowers, once.

"Why sunflowers? " she asked, amused by that embarrassed look on his face, half expecting him to offer an explanation along the lines of "Girls like flowers, right? "

But instead he said,

"Just 'cause they're pretty. "

_Like you._

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She didn't laugh until she was certain he was telling a joke.

"Take a good long look , Ciss, " he declared, jabbing himself in the chest. "This guy right here's gonna be a hero. "

She believed him.

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He couldn't help but feel more than a little protective.

She _was_ a girl, after all.

"Get outta the way, " she ordered, clearly frustrated that he was hogging all the action.

"They'll shoot you dead, " he insisted. "Let me- "

"Don't even try to baby me, Fair. As your senior, I order you to butt out and get back to your post. "

In the two seconds it took him to open his mouth to argue, she had already slipped away and was halfway down the street, leaving a trail of limp bodies in her wake.

He groaned, swearing to never let himself be a gentleman to her again.

"At least leave some for me! "

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She always said no. (Or some variation of it. )

But that didn't dampen his spirits - not that anything could.

"Dinner? "

He leaned over her desk and looked up at her, expectant.

"Can't, " she said without looking up. "I've got tons of work. Especially after that incident at Junon. "

He rolled his eyes. "Typical. "

She frowned, straightening her papers. "It's not like I have a choice, Zack. "

"I know, I know... " Zack slumped down on an empty chair in front of her desk.

She put her pen down, and gave him a sympathetic smile. "There's always a next time, right? "

There wasn't.

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She was afraid.

He made her smile too much, laugh too much... feel too much.

She hadn't received adequate enough training when it came to _feeling._

In fact, before she met him...

She wasn't even sure she knew how.

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He thought she probably just wasn't interested.

Which was a pity, really. She was pretty, smart, all that. But he just wasn't her type, he supposed. (Though he really couldn't see _why_. )

But he wouldn't even think to hold it against her, no!

Zack Fair would take the high road.

"Hey, Aerith! "

The Cetra girl looked up from her flowers, smiling that bright untainted smile that never left her face.

"What is it, Zack? "

Zack Fair would move on.

"How about one date? "

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She knew she had no right to be mad.

"..and she said yes! "

He was so happy, it was irritating.

And she knew she had no right to be annoyed.

Or feel betrayed.

So she tried to smile.

"That's great, Zack. "

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He couldn't help but feel like he thought about her more than he should.

"So someone actually fell for it, huh? "

"Whaddaya mean 'fell for it'? " He tried to look offended. "All I did was _ask_, no trickery involved. I mean, really, who could resist the charms of Zack Fair? "

_Oh, I know, _a small voice taunted evilly in the back of his mind.

"Whatever you say.. " Cloud didn't look too convinced.

"Watch it, Strife. "

"Sure, sure. Sooo... is she pretty? "

"_Very_, " he replied proudly. He let himself be overtaken by Aerith and thoughts of her flowing chestnut hair, her laugh, her smile, the way she looked up at him with those big, brown eyes that reminded him of caramel and made him want to slam her against the wall and kiss her senseless-

"Green! " he amended, abruptly and aloud, causing his friend to jump.

And the fact that he looked so guiltily panic-stricken was probably why all Cloud could say was, "Huh..? "

"She has green eyes. "

_Note to self._

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She'd met his parents.

She was hesitant at first, but finally mustered up enough courage to knock on the front door and not run away when it finally opened.

"Ah, so you're Aerith! " A kiss on the cheek, a warm hug.

A mother's hug, she realized.

She didn't bother to offer a correction. She didn't want to break it to good ol' Mr. and Mrs. Fair that their son was currently on the run as an escaped mako experiment. She didn't want to consider the possibility - the _probability_ - that he might die. But more than anything... she wanted to pretend.

Even for a while.

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He kept hearing her voice in his head.

"Wings symbolize freedom for those who have none, " she had told him, a long, long time ago. "They don't symbolize monsters. "

He watched the sky as it opened up, half-blinding him as the sunlight poured out... and for a moment, he could swear he caught a glimpse of Angeal...

_Those wings..._

Cissnei had a point.

_...I want them, too._

And the next thing he knew, he was flying.

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She didn't like sunsets. She didn't like the way the sun slowly sank into the horizon, taking the light with it.

She liked endings even less.

But she felt her mouth twitch into an ironic smile as she watched the clouds part to reveal a patch of yellow sky.

It was the color of sunflowers.

**END**

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**A/N: **Soo... since I didn't let myself get too carried away, this is still canon. Somewhat. (So put your pitchforks down, Zerith shippers.)

**Review~! :DDD  
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